❓ Ms. Mettam questions the Premier regarding the death of a young person in custody and conflicting reports about Banksia Hill. The Premier expresses regret, outlines actions to improve juvenile justice, and claims positive feedback from the Commissioner for Children and Young People.
AnsweredQoN 559Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
YOUTH DETENTION —
DEATHS IN CUSTODY
559. Ms L. METTAM to the Premier:
I refer to the death of a second
young person in custody and to comments by the Minister for Corrective Services
that the Western Australian Commissioner for Children and Young People, Ms
McGowan-Jones, had given Banksia Hill a glowing report.
Does
the Premier stand by his minister's comments that things are vastly
improved; and, if so, how does he reconcile Ms McGowan-Jones'
actual comments that ''what we see are fences, more barbed wire''
and that ''WA looked 'appalling' in the eyes of child
advocates around the country and the world''?
DEATHS IN CUSTODY
559. Ms L. METTAM to the Premier:
I refer to the death of a second
young person in custody and to comments by the Minister for Corrective Services
that the Western Australian Commissioner for Children and Young People, Ms
McGowan-Jones, had given Banksia Hill a glowing report.
Does
the Premier stand by his minister's comments that things are vastly
improved; and, if so, how does he reconcile Ms McGowan-Jones'
actual comments that ''what we see are fences, more barbed wire''
and that ''WA looked 'appalling' in the eyes of child
advocates around the country and the world''?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question.
I know that this will be the subject of a longer debate later today. Obviously,
the circumstances around the death of that young man are absolutely tragic and
horrible. The death of anyone in the state's
care is incredibly regrettable and sad. Our hearts go out to that young man and
his family. We will do everything we can to make sure we get to the
bottom of this. This is about continuing to learn and improve the way we manage
our juvenile justice facilities and making sure that we provide safety for the
community and compassionate detention for young people who have committed a crime
for which they are in detention. We will continue to make sure that we improve
on this.
I am not aware of the comments to
which the member referred, but I can put my hand on my heart and say that I met
with the Commissioner for Children and Young People and she said that things
had improved significantly at Banksia Hill. She was very pleased with the progress
that was being made. Obviously, the detention of a juvenile is always the last
resort in terms of keeping the community safe. We will keep the community safe
because that is our priority. We will make sure that we do everything we can to
look after those young people. We are guided by the Inspector of Custodial
Services, the President of the Children's Court and, of course, the
Commissioner for Children and Young People, each of whom has ongoing visitation
to Banksia Hill and has reported either officially or unofficially that they continue to be heartened by the improvements
that we have made in that facility. Obviously , we will continue to make
sure that we are resolute to keep the community safe, keep the staff of that
facility safe and provide the best possible care for those young people,
ensuring that while we have them for their period of detention, they have
supports and opportunities to continue to learn in an education environment and
the ability to undertake programs so that they can undertake a better pathway
in life.
I know that this will be the subject of a longer debate later today. Obviously,
the circumstances around the death of that young man are absolutely tragic and
horrible. The death of anyone in the state's
care is incredibly regrettable and sad. Our hearts go out to that young man and
his family. We will do everything we can to make sure we get to the
bottom of this. This is about continuing to learn and improve the way we manage
our juvenile justice facilities and making sure that we provide safety for the
community and compassionate detention for young people who have committed a crime
for which they are in detention. We will continue to make sure that we improve
on this.
I am not aware of the comments to
which the member referred, but I can put my hand on my heart and say that I met
with the Commissioner for Children and Young People and she said that things
had improved significantly at Banksia Hill. She was very pleased with the progress
that was being made. Obviously, the detention of a juvenile is always the last
resort in terms of keeping the community safe. We will keep the community safe
because that is our priority. We will make sure that we do everything we can to
look after those young people. We are guided by the Inspector of Custodial
Services, the President of the Children's Court and, of course, the
Commissioner for Children and Young People, each of whom has ongoing visitation
to Banksia Hill and has reported either officially or unofficially that they continue to be heartened by the improvements
that we have made in that facility. Obviously , we will continue to make
sure that we are resolute to keep the community safe, keep the staff of that
facility safe and provide the best possible care for those young people,
ensuring that while we have them for their period of detention, they have
supports and opportunities to continue to learn in an education environment and
the ability to undertake programs so that they can undertake a better pathway
in life.
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